Bob Dylan Sings To Marketers

MediaPost Publications, November 19, 2009 — Listening to a Bob Dylan album that I downloaded to my iPhone, I was prompted to rummage through a box of yellowing newspaper articles on entertainers and found a 2002 New York Times article, "Bob Dylan's Unswerving Road Back To Newport," which traces his merger of folk and rock.

Advertising and marketing professionals would do well to heed Dylan's example, which reminds us that life does not progress in a straight line. Personal and artistic integrity are underscored by fusion and change, which, in turn, is driven by the tension of a collage of opposites. The point: What is true for Bob Dylan is true for all people.

LinkedIn Launches Custom Groups For Marketers

MediaPost Publications, November 18, 2009 — Expanding its monetization efforts, LinkedIn is launching a new program allowing marketers to create sponsored groups with built-out Web pages that are promoted across the professional's social network.

LinkedIn unveiled the new Custom Groups along with other advertising initiatives the company is rolling out at a breakfast event Wednesday in New York. The moves reflect the company's wider strategy to capitalize on the company's affluent audience of more than 50 million members.

Friendless: CMOs Spend Little On Social Media

MediaPost Publications, November 17, 2009 — Twitter may be booming, Facebook stratospheric, but leading chief marketing officers are apparently yet to send the dollars wildly chasing the traffic.

A new study shows nearly 85% of CMOs spend less than 10% of their budgets on social media, and what's described as "non-traditional communications channels."

Reintroduce The Consumer Into The Mix

MediaPost Publications, November 17, 2009 — We have more data on consumers today than ever, but do we really know more about how to market to them than we did 25 years ago? It's not our fault; it just used to be simpler back when the average consumer was easily defined, shopped in fewer places, and print, TV, radio and in-store were the only real options available for communicating with them.

First Network, Then Cable, Now There's 'Social TV'†

Networks Try to Hold, Build Audiences With Facebook and Twitter

Advertising Age, November 16, 2009 — TV has for decades aimed to deliver water-cooler moments, from "Who Shot J.R.?" right on through to the return of Dr. Izzie Stevens on "Grey's Anatomy" last week. What TV hasn't been able to do is keep hold of its audience once people move from watching these shows to talking about them — until now. Using new social-media tools, producers are trying to build up their old-media offerings and beef up their audiences for advertisers.

Nearly 40% of marketers plan to boost budgets

Marketing Priorities and Plans 2010

BtoB Magazine, November 16, 2009 — As the economy slowly shows signs of recovery, almost 40% of b-to-b marketers say they plan to boost their marketing budgets next year, according to BtoB's “2010 Outlook: Marketing Priorities and Plans” survey.

The online survey of 376 b-to-b marketers was conducted during the last week of October and the first week of November. It found that 39.2% plan to increase their marketing budgets next year; 47.5% plan to keep them flat; and 13.3% plan to decrease them.

P&G, Walmart, Unilever, General Mills Are Major Marketers on a Mission†

From 'We Save You Money' to 'We Nourish Lives,' Giants Make Some Big Statements

Advertising Age, November 16, 2009 — If you haven't touched and improved more lives more completely lately, you probably wouldn't last long as a Procter & Gamble Co. marketer.

The touching-and-improving mantra flows off lips at P&G these days with the eerie ease that "consumer is boss" did nearly a decade ago. The catchphrase rotation has been the most obvious manifestation of the transition to CEO Bob McDonald. He and Global Brand-Building Officer Marc Pritchard frequently answer questions about everything from growth strategy to the role of a brand manager by citing that touching/improving theme.

Marketing Evolution: Once More With Meaning

CMO Magazine, November 13, 2009 — There is no question that the chief marketing officer (CMO) role has been a crucible of corporate pressure since the job was first spawned in the mid-1990s. Marketing is the most visible expression of company strategy, customer satisfaction and corporate spending. With the accelerating changes in consumers’ media and buying habits, each of these areas is in flux. As a result, many CMOs are hired in or promoted up into the role and immediately assigned as “change agents.” The question is—Change what?

The Illusion of Brand Control†

Harvard Business Review, November 13, 2009 — You've probably heard by now that "your brand is no longer yours." The assertion's based on simple math. In the era of blogs, discussion boards, Facebook, Twitter, and other Web 2.0 tools, virtually everyone can get online and talk about your company and its offerings. As a result, the amount of information your marketing and PR departments can generate is only a small percentage of the total volume of content on the Internet about your firm.

IAB, Bain Unveil 'Roadmap' For Building Brands Online: Report Addresses Industry's Dysfunctions

MediaPost Publications, November 12, 2009 — Last year, the Interactive Advertising Bureau and Bain & Co. released the findings of a shocking study showing the commoditizing effects the burgeoning marketplace of online display advertising, and new secondary sales channels such as ad networks and exchanges were having on the value of online advertising inventory. Today, they will begin to fight back. In a meeting with nearly 100 top industry executives, including many of the largest brand marketers, the IAB and Bain will release the findings of a new report they believe will provide a "roadmap" to rebuilding the industry's perceptions about the brand-building value of online advertising.